Should You Learn Photoshop or Figma First?
If you’re stepping into the world of digital design, one of the first questions you’ll face is whether to start with Photoshopor Figma. Both are powerful tools, but they serve different creative needs—and choosing the right one to begin with can shape your learning journey in meaningful ways. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide which tool should come first on your creative path.
Start With Figma If You Want to Design for the Web or Apps
Figma has quickly become the go-to tool in UI/UX design because of its simplicity, speed, and collaborative features. If your goal is to design websites, apps, or digital interfaces, Figma is the most natural starting point. It’s beginner-friendly, free to use, and built around the kinds of workflows modern designers rely on—like responsive layouts, prototyping, and real-time collaboration. Figma removes a lot of the technical barriers Photoshop has, allowing you to focus on design thinking rather than mastering tools. For anyone pursuing product design, UI/UX, or digital layout creation, Figma should be your first step.
Start With Photoshop If You Want to Focus on Creative or Visual Design
If you’re more drawn to visual art, creative manipulation, or brand design, Photoshop is still the industry heavyweight. It’s ideal for photo editing, creating graphics, designing marketing materials, and crafting visuals with depth and detail. Photoshop gives you far more control over textures, lighting, and artistic effects than Figma ever could. While it has a steeper learning curve, that also means it opens up more possibilities for expression. For illustrators, photographers, and creatives working with visuals rather than interfaces, Photoshop is the more natural starting point.
Consider the Kind of Projects You Want to Create
Choosing between Photoshop and Figma often comes down to imagining your future projects. Do you want to create smooth user flows for apps? Wireframes for websites? Interactive prototypes? Figma. Do you want to retouch photos, design posters, or create digital artwork? Photoshop. Each tool leads you down a slightly different creative path, and understanding your long-term goals will make the choice clearer.
Why Many Beginners Start With Figma
Even if you’re undecided, many people choose to learn Figma first because it’s incredibly intuitive. You can create polished designs quickly, collaborate with others, and get a feel for layout, spacing, and hierarchy—all essential foundations for any design discipline. Once you’re comfortable with design basics, transitioning to Photoshop (or any other tool) becomes much easier.
Why Learning Photoshop Is Still Worth It
Photoshop remains an essential tool in branding, marketing, digital art, printing, and creative industries. Even if Figma becomes your primary design environment, Photoshop will give you a deeper understanding of visual composition and allow you to enhance graphics in ways Figma simply can’t. Many designers eventually use both tools—but in very different ways.
| Feature / Use Case | Figma | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose / strength | UI/UX design, web/app interfaces, layouts & prototypes | Photo editing, raster graphics, digital art, print & detailed image manipulation |
| Graphics type | Vector-based (scalable, responsive) | Raster (pixel-based) — better for fixed-size/print graphics or detailed imagery |
| Collaboration & workflow | Real-time collaboration, browser-based, cloud storage, easy sharing & version history | Local file saving, no built-in live collaboration — typically single-user workflow |
| Prototyping / UI design features | Built-in prototyping, responsive layout tools, components, UI/UX-oriented workflow | Not optimized for interactive UI prototyping; better for static graphics, print, or photo-based creations |
| Software access / cost | Browser-based (works on many OS), has free tier (with optional paid plans) | Desktop application (Windows/Mac), subscription-based via Adobe Creative Cloud |
| Ideal scenarios / projects | Web design, app UI/UX, responsive layouts, interactive prototypes, team projects | Photo editing, digital art, print materials, marketing graphics, detailed illustration, raster-heavy visual work |
So… Which Should You Learn First?
Learn Figma first if your focus is UI/UX, digital products, or web/app design.
Learn Photoshop first if your focus is creative art, branding, or photo-based design.
Neither choice is “wrong”. They’re just different starting points depending on where you want your creativity to take you. And the good news? Skills from one will always help you with the other.